Rico Blanco revisits one of the most pivotal songs in his catalog with a new version of “You’ll Be Safe Here,” a 2024 remake of the 2005 track originally released during his Rivermaya era. The song hit 100 million streams on Spotify this year, joining “Antukin” as one of the few Filipino rock songs from the 2000s to break the threshold without being powered by a current film or viral trend. It’s also the first time the track has been widely available since the original was pulled from streaming platforms years ago.
The song first appeared in the latter years of Rivermaya, during a stretch of experimentation with synth-pop and new wave sounds, steering away from the band’s heavier, grunge-influenced roots . “You’ll Be Safe Here” was released as the theme for the ABS-CBN series Spirits and later became the title track of an EP in the same year. It earned acclaim across Southeast Asia with the band winning the “Favorite Artist Philippines” category at the 2005 MTV Asia Awards, which helped frame Rivermaya as a forward-leaning band willing to evolve past its mythology created from changes within the band.
This new version from Rico Blanco updates the original with more refined electronic production, a fuller synth base, and vocals that reflect the wear and texture of two decades of experience. The result isn’t a reinvention, but a reassertion of its timelessness with existing covers by other Filipino artists like Moira Dela Torre, Adie, and Janine Teñoso. Those covers helped keep the track alive, but Blanco’s return puts the focus back on the history of the song.
“You’ll Be Safe Here” charted at number one on the television channel MYX when it was released in 2005, but it built momentum slowly through live performances and television appearances across the region. Now, almost 20 years later, it’s clear the track never needed to chase certain trends in a genre. This re-release doesn’t rewrite the past, but gives the original song a proper place in the present, filed under a legacy still being shaped by the person who wrote it.
